So GTA IV went back to Gamefly today unfinished. While I could have soldiered through the last 1/3-1/4 of the game, I just couldn't stomach having to restart the "Hating the Haters" mission again. It wasn't so much that particular mission (though it is a terrible one), it's that the mission gameplay is so frequently unrewarding, and takes so much aggravation to get to again if a restart is necessary.
I had plenty of money, and the limited progression in the game meant there would be no improvement for my character, so there was no reward-based motivation. I didn't feel much comraderie with Mr. Bellic (more on that below) so that was no motivation for finishing his story. The cutscenes are generally too silly/sophmoric for me to enjoy, so seeing another of them wasn't much of motivation.
That leaves the gameplay itself as motivation. Unfortunately, this mission and way too many others aren't particularly fun: Follow around a guy who can magically take corners at fast speed and is invulnerable to damage until the game magically decides that he isn't. Hope you don't fall even slightly behind due to ridiculously tight driving controls, even more annoying vehicle combat controls, or random pedestrian/car traffic. If you do, be prepared to restart the mission from scratch, including the part where you have to drive the guy to the park and slowly tail him while he jogs. Wheeeeeee.
As I mentioned a bit ago, I was completely divorced from caring about Nico's story by that point. The immersion factor of the game had slowly been draining out of me, and reached a crescendo with...
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Kind of breaking the immersion a tad there. The fact that I don't get to choose a response to that (have you met Mr. SMG, darling?) is just ridiculous. I grasp the fact that the GTA series is all about following the storyline that's laid out for you, but that sure doesn't make it feel any less antiquated, uninvolving or just plain silly.
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